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Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Gemma

So we have been having a lot of issues with our Malamute howling when left alone over the past 2 years since we got him, he gets lonely very easily. This past Saturday we came home from a hockey game to find a written warning on the door from the Westminster Animal Control for the noise after only being gone from 11am-2pm. One of my neighors had complained. DAMN IT!!!

We were at a loss on what to do. We have tried toys, me coming home at lunch, and even taken it to the point of a shock collar. All which have not seemed to work. We can not afford the ticket and possible court cost that this could bring.

My big boy TONKA:

So as a last ditch effort we got this sweet little girl to keep him company.

Meet Gemma-

She is a Black Mouth Cur. Very very sweet and all she wants to do is please everyone. She does have lots of energy because she is only 9 months old which makes Tonka put her in her place more than once.

Lets hope this works. Otherwise we will have to re-home Tonka to a place where the noise will not be an issue and I really don't want to lose my big boy.

10 comments:

The breeder of the malamute told us that the shock collar does not work very well on howling and crying. They were the ones that told us to get him a buddy. They have seen this issue a lot and this seems to cure it 90% of the time. Now I have 2 mountain dogs, one for the winter and one for the summer.

It has to do with the way the voice cords move with each noise. With barking they are jumping up and down the neck with each bark while howling it is only once with each long howl. It is not as effective. Make sense once the breeder explained it to me.

Congrats on the new dog! Have you tried a citronella bark collar? My in-laws have 2 yappy ankle biters that shut up immediately when a citronella bark collar is put on them (they no longer even spray citronella, but the dogs have just learned not to bark with the collar on regardless).

Did the neighbors talk with you before reporting? I am currently going through something similar, but am on the opposite side of the fence so to speak. Our neighbor’s 2 dogs bark unchecked for many hours per day, whether the owners are home or not. I eventually (after putting up with it for nearly 2 years), walked over to talk with them, yet they were not home, so I left a polite note with my name, number and address. I never heard from them, but they did make an effort to quiet the dogs, which lasted for about a year. Now the dogs are back at it full force, so this time, I am planning to report them.

Like you, I would be mortified if the actions of my dogs were bugging the neighbors enough to call me out on it (personal note or animal control), but it amazes me when people just let it slide. Anyways, good luck in your efforts.

I wish who ever it was would talk to me, this random crap makes it really hard to respect what they have to say especially when I went door to door asking and everyone around my house told me they were ok with Tonka. I have gotten one nasty random note about a month ago. I left a little after 5am to run Longs and when I got back at noon there was a note on my door saying the dog was howling since 3am with no name or number so I could talk to them. When people stretch the truth like that to make it seem worse than it is, it makes it hard to really know what is the truth and what isn't when something is called into the police. It has been very very frustrating and I told the animal officer that. The warning from the Police arrived on my door on 10/8, the complaint to them was from 10/4. 4-5 days later??? WTF!!??? I really hope this helps because I am at a lost after that.

I hope the new dog helps! I volunteer for husky rescue in Denver, and my dogs howl when either my husband or I leave the house. Luckily our neighbors haven't complained yet. Anyway, if it doesn't work and you do have to consider rehoming Tonka, please consider contacting Polaris Malamute Rescue or Mile High Husky Rescue (the latter is for huskies, but I'm pretty sure they would take a mal).

Thank you for the resources Laura. If we have to re-home the malamute we will go back to the breeders Snow Plains in the Springs. They require that they are involved in all issues like this with their dogs. Good to see a responsible breeder. Shad